It is my melancholy duty to report that Ski's trip to see Babtist Andy Stanley has disappeared, like Brigadoon, from his blog. The blog archive is gone. Check it out. And I was so wishing to revisit the excitement he felt in shunning WELS professor emeritus Dan Deutschlander in order to drink in wisdom from Andy Stanley.
But wait. I just received an email from a noted doctor of divinity. The link on the main page is gone but the content is still there. Here it is, as reported from deep within WELS:
http://web.me.com/pastorski/Site/Drive_08_%26_Journal.html
And some of you Church and Changers thought I never did anything for the cause. Yes, I found Brigadoon 08, I mean, Drive 08. I even found that nasty little Airport meeting WELS has been running--under the radar--if you get my joke. But I had help, lots and lots of help from all over.
Some Church and Changers must think I have a bad memory. They used to say, in plain old Church Growth Movement days, "Oh, that never happened. Where did he get the idea I went to Fuller Seminary? Oh, he exaggerates."
But now a host of people are watching everything Church and Change does. And they are not happy with their offering money siphoned away to finance these wild hair projects, promoting even more doctrinal error. They can trace the movement of money among the Church and Changers.
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Drive 08 Goes Stealthy":
Thanks for this link. This allows "Ski" to speak for himself and no one can accuse of others of misrepresenting him. I hope others share deep concerns about a WELS pastor not merely observing such a convocation but participating in worship and fellowship, and not commenting in the least about the false doctrine that was swirling around him. His glee at meeting Stanley, whom he obviously regards very highly, is rather sickening. This is truly disturbing. I don't agree with quite a bit of your blog and at times cringe at your spirit, but I do thank you for this post. I hope WELS leadership will react to something this blatantly and identifiably wrong in one of the members of its ministerium (and the others of this same ilk by his side).
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GJ - Mrs. Ichabod summed up the spirit of this blog in one word - "Satire."
I could spend more time on other things if WELS pastors did more than say a few things during the coffee hour (quietly to one another, speaking softly in Jerusalem lest they be heard on the streets of Gath) 2 Samuel 1:20.
The timid spirit is apparent in the Tendrils paper, a spitball lobbed softly in the direction of Church and Change.
A spirit of retreat and compromise is evidenced in the lack of discipline by the local circuit pope and district pope.
And where is the Little Sect on the Prairie? Pope John the Malefactor freely extends the Left Foot of Fellowship to any pastor who disagrees with him, yet the Mankato Monseignor is silent about Church and Change running WELS.
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Ski:
What is Drive ’08? That’s a great question. Drive is a two day conference for church leaders. During these two days church leaders from the three North Point campuses will share what they have learned over the last twelve years about creating and maintaining awesome ministry environments. The entire conference has been designed around questions from churches all over the world.
Over the two days Andy Stanley (Lead Pastor at North Point) will address the attendees in three main sessions. There will be five break-out sessions that will revolve around questions asked by the attendees. These sessions allow those in attendance to get pretty specific on certain areas of ministry as well as get great feedback.
I invite you to check out my blog while I’m gone. I’ll try to update the blog daily and share what I’ve learned. Please feel free to share your comments.
I’ll see you all when I get back!
Blessings,
ski
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:
WHO WENT THAT YOU MIGHT KNOW?
Pastor Ski - St. Marcus - Milwaukee
Pastor John Parlow - St. Mark - Depere
Pastor Jim Buske - Lighthouse Youth Center - Milwaukee
HOW LONG WERE WE THERE?
May 3rd - May 7th
WHERE WAS THE CONFERENCE?
North Point Church, Alpharetta, GA
FAVORITE PART OF THE CONFERENCE:
Final Main Session with Andy Stanley
FAVORITE BREAK OUT SESSION:
A Healthy Staff Culture
- Jeff Henderson
FAVORITE QUOTE FROM DRIVE ‘08
“Leaders don’t get people, they attract them”
- Andy Stanley
DRIVE ’08 - Journal
Day Two
Sunday morning we got up and headed over to North Point Community Church. The facility is huge. The have two huge auditoriums. Each one holds roughly 2,500 people. So for the first morning service, Andy Stanley lead pastor, will preach live in one of the auditoriums and then the other service starts five minutes after the first service. There is live music in both auditoriums, but when it comes to the message a huge screen comes down and Andy is just projected on the screen.
We went to 11:00 AM church. Andy wasn’t even there. North Point has three campuses (They have truly embraced the multi site ministry philosophy.) and he was preaching live at Buckhead. The music was great. Todd Fields is their main music guy and he is phenomenal. The worship atmosphere is always interesting to me. At times it seems that it is almost more like a concert than a worship service, but the people were enjoying worship.
At North Point they have more of a topical or series style of preaching (much like we do Sunday night). Andy was in week two of a series called “Faith, Hope, & Luck”. His printed material is first class. The look of the bulletin look was all about gambling. What I mean is that the artwork had neon signs, slot machines, and dice. It just looks like some serious time was spent on it.
Andy’s message focussed the million dollar question what is faith? The sermon was about 40 minutes, and in summation he said faith is trust in Jesus. One of the best sermons that I have heard Andy preach.
After worship Buske and I headed down to Turner Field for the Braves - Reds game. Turner Field was awesome, people were awesome and the stadium and the game was great. The game was a Braves win, we got to see Griffey for the Reds and Jeff Francoeur (who is a WELS member) had a good day. Braves win 14 to 7.
Drive ’08 - Journal
Day Three
Finally, today was the day that I have been waiting for. The conference begins tonight. What a day. You guys were probably thinking that I just came down here to hang out at baseball games, eat “slaw dogs”, and go to some different churches. Well...
Today started crazy. We went over to Buckhead (one of the multiple sites of North Point, they have 3 sites & about 20,000 worship over a weekend). It was an incredible facility. You can see the pictures above. It was as though they had cloned the main campus and transplanted it at Buckhead. Wow was it awesome. Everyone was mega nice and helpful. The book for notes is so well done and they gave us great “man purse” bags.
We got invited to be a part of the “flash mob”. That is 300 of the first people to pick up their stuff for the conference gets to be involved in 4 secret missions or tasks.
After we registered we headed to the 5 Seasons for lunch. While we were there we heard this voice behind us at a table. Well, we turn around and sure enough there at the table is my old German teacher, Prof. Daniel Deutschlander sitting & eating bratwurst & drinking a beer. As it turns out he is speaking at the Peachtree Conference (I think that is what it is called - WELS churches in the ATL - Tennesee - Alabama area). He asked if we were down for his presentation. I had to say unfortunately, no. The conversation was pretty interesting after that. I mean, telling your old prof. that you are in town, not to hear him is bad enough, but on top of that you are in town to attend a non-denominational church leadership conference... Not normal WELS practice.
Drive ’08 Journal
Day Four
Good morning. I hope that this finds everyone enjoying the day. We started this morning at about 7:00 AM with breakfast. It was a little weird, usually I’m up & going around 5:00 AM & in the office by 6:30 AM. So this was a nice little change. We needed to be at North Point by 8:00 AM for a “flash mob” meeting. We were assigned three tasks. They were:
1.At exactly 12:!5 PM (during lunch) stand up on your chair & dance in place & shake your maracas. Don’t worry Abbie & Megan, I saved them for you. After that sit down like nothing happened. It was hilarious. I never knew John and Jim could move like that. If the WELS ever gets a hold of that video...
2.Right before the main session starts there will be a cue word. Once that word is spoken the “flash mob” is to freeze, no matter where you are or what you are doing, freeze for 2 minutes & then sit down.
3.After Andy is done speaking, stand up and yell, “Road Trip!” Start the chant, for those of you who have seen it... like in Animal House when Belushi starts to yell Toga!
The plan is to take everyone at the conference on a 20 miles road trip in ATL traffic at rush hour to the new site at Brown Bridge I’ll let you know how that works out.
Probably the best way to do journaling from today is to break down every session. Before I do that I want to say this: there is a cool, weird, awesome feeling of unity with the people here. I mean I couldn’t tell you everyone’s name or where they are from, but there is something way cool about all these people here for one reason. That reason being how can I reach more people more effectively. This post will be a little longer than normal, but here it goes...
Break Out Session #1 - A Healthy Staff Culture:
This was so helpful for me as I try to build a heathy team on Sunday night. Great insight. The presenter was the lead pastor at Buckhead (one of the other sites). His name was Jeff Henderson. He used to be the sports marketing guy at Chik Filet. Really gifted guy. In order to have a healthy staff Jeff would say you need the following:
1.The right reason = Vision
2.The right way = Fun
3.The right work = Focus
4.The right people = Everything
The thoughts and points were great. He stressed little things that make so much sense. Staff meetings need to be times of celebration, not times of information sharing. He talked about how important the overall vision and mission are. And how important it is that everyone on the team buys in. No personal agendas. Be committed to the vision and not personal preferences.
I think that last one is the toughest nut to swallow. How often to we simply slide into what we personally want (personal agenda or preference) instead of looking at how what we do effects the vision in a positive or negative way? Do we ever feel as though what we do at St. Marcus is in competition with another part? If so, we need to take a step back and look at the vision. Because that is not unified. A point that continues to come up is irrelevant environments lose people. I know that this is an area that I will continue to work hard on.
Another great point in this session was on burn out. The Jeff said, “Staff burnout is always the leader’s fault. Set margins, hold to them, and know that you are answerable to God.” I thought this was extremely interesting. With the pace that we are going at St. Marcus how are our margins? Do we set them too narrow? Are they too wide? It is always good to look at. And it is always a great reminder that we have wives and families outside of our ministry. We need to start in our homes, because the devil will even use something that we love, like ministry, to hinder God’s work. It becomes imperative that we recharge our batteries & spend time with our families.
Breakout Session #2 - Unforgettable Environments
pretty sweet session. The guy who ran it was named Ted Lowe. He was actually in charge of Married Ministry at North Point. His points were formed in questions. Here are the main points:
1.Who are you targeting?
2.How are you marketing?
3.What are you delivering?
4.How are you evaluating?
All pretty good questions. He made a point that comes up every so often at St. Marcus, is there an issue when we tend to take a marketing view instead of a church view? His point, which I think I have felt but never been able to put into words, was people don’t care about a church; they care about their lives. We as churches have the opportunity, through Jesus to give them purpose. That purpose, of course, flows from what Jesus has done. When your whole motivation for everything flows from connecting people with Christ and giving purpose, lives are changed. That’s where the unforgettable environment comes from. Jesus is what changes lives.
I’ve said this a billion times, “We say all the time that people out there are dying & they don’t know Jesus, but how does that fact change our lives?” Do we become more intentional? Do our actions change? Often, mine don’t. It has to become a process of retraining. We have the greatest message that creates and sustains an unforgettable environment, that’s being all that Jesus has done.
Breakout Session #3 - Connecting Adults To Small Groups
This session was lead by Jenny Boyett. She is in charge of Group Link, which is one of the Small Group programs at North Point. This was a pretty good session. I guess I was looking for more of a how to instead of this is what we do or this might work for you. Most of the information that was shared was theory. They have three types of groups.
1.Next = Informing people about Community Groups.
This is a meeting that happens on the 1st & 3rd Sundays after the worship service. It lasts 30 minutes and is designed to give an overview of the Church and the mission, as well as start to plug people in. I think that this is incredible. It is totally run by lay people and allows them to share their experience and likes about what is going on in the church. Great way to share info in a non-threatening way.
2.Fusion = Moving people toward Community Groups
This is a meeting of singles that come to build friendships and get to know people. This is also intriguing. This is not a Bible Study group. North Point would say that younger people who are Christian want to hang out with other Christians, as well as get to know them, but it is hard. So why not create an environment that this can happen in? This has huge possibilities for Sunday Night. Maybe not everyone is ready for a Community Group, Foundations of Faith, or a formal Bible Study. Maybe they are trying to figure out the “church thing.” This would be a great first step.
3.Grouplink = Connecting people into Community Groups
This meeting is all about connecting people with the Word in one way or another. Whether that be in a public, corporate Bible Study, or a Community Group. This also has huge possibilities for our ministries.
I think there are some great things here that we can tweak & use if we are serious about getting people involved in the Word on a regular basis. I also think that we can do this if we make the process easy and non-threatening. the danger is just to put the pressure on and be relentless motivating the wrong way.
Main Session #2 - Andy Stanley - Becoming A Great Staff
This was just awesome. The opening music could be confused with a rock concert. Lights, guitars, confetti, etc... The staff also ran through the aisles and threw out blow up guitars and microphones for the audience. I used the word audience, simply because congregation sounded kind of weird. To me what was interesting about the opening music portion, was it goes against everything that I have been taught as a Lutheran. We are called to put our emotions in a box. To not be emotional about the music, unless it is a moving hymn. This is tough, I mean, I may not be jumping around with my hands up, but should I look down on someone who does? Is their worship any less acceptable to God? I don’t think so. Maybe, we need to look at this, emotions are good as long as they don’t get out of control. I think that sometimes we also put down music because it is a repeating chorus and doesn’t have the depth of a hymn. Do we always need to do that? Can’t we have different kinds of music? Isn’t there a danger in saying that there is only one way to do things? I personally like variety. Think about it like this, Cherios are good, I like them, they are nutritious, they are good with or without milk. But let me tell you, I love Fruity Pebbles. They are colorful, tasty, & packed with sugar. Does that mean that I want to eat them every day? Probably not, but it doesn’t automatically mean that I want Cherios every day either. Maybe some days i want Frosted Flakes. I like variety.
Anyway, Andy’s session was great. Like I have said. He has this great gift of making things seem so simple. Here are his main points from this afternoon:
1.A great staff is made up of “great leaders.”
2.Best practices for creating a “great staff.”
a.Do for one when you can’t do for all.
b.Systemize top down service.
c.In response to your staff’s key objectives, ask “How can I help you?”
d.Create & maintain a sustainable pace.
e.Celebrate & reward greatness when you see it.
3.Signs that things aren’t so great.
a.Competition between departments.
b.Double standards.
c.Loyalty lectures.
This was great just to hear & to have to look at our ministry and ask the question, “Do we have issues here?” I think that overall we do pretty well. Are there areas that we can improve? Of course.
Do we have a service mentality? I think that it is so easy to slide into serving your own needs or your own perceived needs. I know that I need work in this area. That is just honest. I have come away with a ton of great ideas that I am hoping to implement, sorry I can’t give those away yet.
After the session the three of us stood up & yelled Road Trip! We got the chant going. (Task #3 completed.) Well, add 1,500 cars to ATL rush hour & what do you get? A lot of angry people.
After 30 minutes sitting in the car trying to get out of the parking lot, we went home.
We’re going to get dinner now. Check back to see if there is any new info or to find out if we went late.
Last day tomorrow & then back up north. I sure hope it is warm.
I’m out.
Day Five
Drive ’08 Journal
Whew! Day 5, it has been a heck of a road trip. Today was the last day. As you can see it was jam packed. Before I get into Day 5... Let me just say this, “We should have sat in traffic to go to the Brown Bridge Campus!” Buske & I were bitter. Remember that I had said John got frustrated sitting the parking lot for 30 minutes? So we went to dinner & called it a night. Well, on Day 5 they showed the video for what happened at Brown Bridge. Sweet cookout, the food looked awesome, games and fellowship outside (without snow or cold, I might add) and then a surprise JEFF FOXWORTHY show. Man, how are they gonna top that next year?
Anyway, Day 5. It is kind of crazy, just when you think it can’t get any better, it does. Well, sort of. In the morning they had Q & As for different groups. I went to one that was about linking adults into small group studies. It was well done, but for me it is difficult because everyone is looking for concrete answers on how to solve their own personal small group issues. Many of the questions didn’t apply for us at St. Marcus. However, the leaders were great and had a ton of info.
My final breakout session was entitled Parental Guidance Required. The leader was Clay Scroggins. He kind of looked like Steve James (he’s a St. Marcus member, Steve that is) but he talked with a Texas drawl. He was high energy. Based on his presentation and his passion for kids, I imagine that he rocked it out with kids. The gist of his session was that what happens in the home has a greater influence on the spiritual life of children than what happens at church. Based on that it becomes imperative that parents & the church partner. Here are the steps that North Point uses:
1.Inform Parents - inform them about what is being taught to their children.
2.Partner With Parents - invite parents to be in an environment with their children.
3.Equip Parents - provide parents with the tools to assist in the spiritual development of their children.
Pretty good points and a really good session.
After that session we broke for lunch. John took off for the airport, so Buske and I were on our own. That might sound a little scary, but it is true.
The final Main Session with Andy Stanley was just phenomenal. We began with awesome worship. Today though, they began with a Christian rapper, Toby Mac. Our school kids would have loved it. I’m not sure that they would have believed that it was church though.
When Andy began his session. He started by saying that he was not going to follow his notes in the Drive ’08 Journal Book. Instead he was going to do something that he called, “Recent Random Thoughts On Church Leadership.” He shared 5 points and 5 takeaways. I think that he was at his absolute best this afternoon. Here are the 5 point & takeaways:
1.To reach people no one else is reaching we must do things no one else is doing.
Takeaway - Become preoccupied with those you haven’t reached as opposed to those you keep. This is easier said than done.
Wow, it seems so simple. And yet so hard.
2.The next generation product almost never comes from the previous generation.
Takeaway - Be a student not a critic.
What more can be said? How do we approach things? When things are different & involve change are we scared? Do we criticize or do we look to learn and implement?
3.What do I believe is impossible to do in my field? But if it could be done it would fundamentally change my business.
Takeaway - Pay attention to the people who are breaking the rules.
Crazy sounding isn’t it? We can fight technology and change, but in the end it will pass us and we will become archaic and irrelevant. Not our Message, but the manner in which we present it. Who would have ever thought texting would be as big as it is? How about multi-site church? Video church? These are all things that have changed how we worship.
4.If we got kicked out & the board brought in a new CEO what would they do? Why shouldn’t we walk out the door & then come back in & do it ourselves?
Takeaway - Acknowledge what is NOT working & own up to why you are unwilling to change it.
Some thoughts on this - rarely does the church (in general) get concerned about change until they run out of money. What if we asked some questions before it was too late?
a.What’s in decline?
b.Where are we manufacturing energy? In other words pretending something is important. An example would be if I continued to say that Bible Study was important, but never attended. I’m blowing hot air, “manufacturing energy.” I don’t believe that anyone wants to stand behind that or get involved in something like that.
c.Finally, when are we going to unearth all underlying assumptions? Sometimes, what we assume, is not the reality. Are we willing to dig to find out the truth or are we happy with assuming?
5.When your memories exceed your dreams the end is near.
Takeaway - Don’t let success or momentum overshadow your vision. Keep the out front.
How quickly can we be satisfied? How often do we look at things and say, “Well, it’s not great but it is better than such and such church.” Scary, but we sometimes fool ourselves into thinking like this. Some questions to ponder:
a.What the burden on your heart?
b.What breaks your heart?
That was it. After that Andy just ended and prayed for all the people there & for there (sic) ministries. As you can see from the pictures above, Buske & I got to get a picture with Andy, pretty cool. He is way down to earth. His wife Sandra was there also and she is just great. We actually got to talk to her a little more than Andy. You also notice John with the North Point member who played Bender in one of their sermon series called “Twisted”. The series was all about how Satan twists God’s Word. Finally, there is a photo of Buske & Todd Fields. I’m a little bitter about that one, but you’ll need to ask me why.
Thanks to everyone who read this while I was gone. Be looking for some cool stuff that we will be implementing at St. Marcus, especially in Sunday Night. Thanks also for all the patience. Writing this thing mostly between 1 AM & 2 AM means that there are probably a ton spelling and grammar mistakes. I can’t wait to see you guys on Sunday. Check out the Picture Page for some added photos from Drive ’08.
I’m out!
